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 Ghana - Country Assessment
SEAM inventory studies conducted in Ghana indicated that, although availability of essential drugs had improved when compared with results from a 1993 study conducted by MSH, significant gaps remain. Public hospitals and clinics, mission facilities, and private pharmacies all had shortfalls; essential drugs (as defined by the World Health Organization's Essential Drugs List) were routinely found at these facilities at levels of just 68 percent, 66 percent, and 67 percent, respectively. The Ghana National Drugs Programme has made efforts to bring improvements to the public health sector, focusing on providing support to training and monitoring programs. Yet many other factors contribute to poor availability. These include financing factors, such as revolving drug funds, unsustainable exemptions, and reimbursement policies, as well as the cumbersome structure of the supply system. In response to these problems, the Ministry of Health's Central Medical Stores has begun the process of reevaluating its warehousing operations, with technical assistance from the Nordic Development Fund.
Mission facilities obtain their supplies from the CHAG Medical Stores, the Catholic Drug Centre, or private wholesalers and distributors. However, the mission supply systems have shown a declining ability to provide high-quality service, falling short in the range and quantity of items supplied as well as in delivery capacity. Weak management, uncertain financing of supplies (depending on member contributions and government subsidies), and limited sources of supplies are major factors limiting the availability of essential medicines in the mission sector. The resulting shortages mean that mission clinics and hospitals must often purchase their supplies from the private sector, at higher prices. Wherever they purchase their medicines, many people in Ghana, especially in rural areas, are unable to afford the full cost of treatment for common diseases. Recent data indicate that 40 percent of Ghana's population earns less than the minimum wage, and this figure can be as high as 70 percent of the population in rural areas. This level of poverty makes it difficult for workers and their families to buy needed medicines. For example, to complete the recommended adult treatment course for pneumonia, a minimum-wage earner would have to pay a cost equivalent to—
Data from the SEAM assessment also suggest that excessive and inappropriate prescribing and lack of patient counseling combine to degrade the overall quality of drug-related services in Ghana. SEAM studies revealed that—
» View the Assessment Report (PDF, 565KB) » View the Survey Data (PDF, 540KB) |
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The mission sector is also an important health provider (serving up to 40 percent of the population), particularly in deprived rural areas. The Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) has 18 member churches operating 121 hospitals and primary health care facilities. 